Carlos Chahine

The Strangers' Case

Over four centuries ago, William Shakespeare collaborated with others on a play about the historical figure Sir Thomas More. In it, he wrote a speech in which More passionately articulates a defence of refugees, culminating in a poignant reference to their plight. Fast-forward to the present: Aleppo, in the midst of the Syrian civil war. Amira, a paediatric surgeon, performs a life-saving operation during the darkest days of the conflict. Through an unexpected twist of fate, she and her daughter become central characters in a dangerous tale that intricately interweaves the lives of five families spanning four continents and redefines all of their existences. Versions of this story continue to repeat themselves over the centuries. For this reason, Shakespeare aptly named this plight “The Strangers’ Case”.

The Insult

After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.

The Valley

After surviving a car crash in the middle of Lebanon's isolated Beqaa Valley, an amnesiac man finds himself held hostage on a local farm that doubles as an illegal drug-production facility.

Carlos

The story of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the OPEC headquarters in 1975 before being caught by the French police.

The Last Man

Each morning Beirut awakens to a new murder seemingly committed by a serial killer, with victims found emptied of their blood. At the same time a doctor, Khalil, begins to experience strange symptoms that destabilise him and transform his life. A connection slowly emerges that seems to link Khalil to these victims. Salhab’s body of films have come to narrate the state of Lebanon – and Beirut in particular – during and after the civil war, and this film is no exception.

La Danse Éternelle

Saïd, seventy, has been demoralized by his wife’s illness which has left her hospitalized. He withdraws into solitude and writes poetry to express the infinite love he carries for his beloved.

Terra incognita

In Beirut, the destinies of several thirtysomethings (an architect, a tour guide, a mystic, a radio operator, and an exile returned home) collide.